Captain America's Shield
by DoctorMerlinReid
Summary: His cheeks burned red as he heard the teen take another picture and probably posting it on that thing that kids use. He thought it was Facebook maybe? Or maybe it was Instagram? Either way, he knew he was going to get majorly laughed at when he got back to New York. And knowing Stark, the picture was probably going to keep cropping up from time to time.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: It was horribly misty at school today and my friend made a comment about Captain America using his shield as an umbrella and it all just kind of went from there. So, here is a one-shot that might become something more. Read, review, and enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers and the inspiration for the idea came from Thine_Everlasting (who is on AO3, not this site).**

CACACACA

Steve Rogers, more commonly known as Captain America, stood glumly in the rain. After planning this weekend hike in the woods for over a week in advance, checking the weather every day, he naturally assumed that it wasn't going to rain today. The forecast had said for the last _ten days_ , including today that it was _not_ going to rain today. Which was why he was more than a little miffed as he stood there. In the rain. That wasn't supposed to be happening.

Rogers gave a heartfelt sigh and started trudging his way back down the mountain. There was no way he was going to be able to continue with his original plans with the ground completely soaked through. Rogers sighed again. The world hated him. Then he perked up a little as a thought hit him; maybe he could go see Peggy again. Her visits normally filled him with a sense of euphoria and nostalgia. He still loved her even though he knew she had found another man and had been happily married to him.

His thoughts took a darker turn as the days that he introduced himself several times an hour came unbidden to his mind. Steve shook his head. All of this rain was getting him down. He decided he would shake himself out of his mood by running down the mountain. At least he could get some sort of work out from this failed weekend adventure.

So he ran. The farther he went, the harder it rained, and the harder it got to see. Soon Captain America had to stop because he couldn't see further than three feet in any direction and realized that he was hopelessly lost. His sigh held a note of frustration this time as he wondered what he could do to block this accursed rain at least enough so it wasn't dripping into his eyes while he tried to see. He thought quickly to himself. There wasn't anything in his camping bag that would even serve remotely as an umbrella (he didn't think to pack one because _it wasn't supposed to rain_ ).

He closed his eyes, thinking harder, but he kept getting distracted by the metallic pinging noise of the multitudes of rain drops striking his shield. Captain Rogers had started taking it most everywhere with him as long as there weren't that many people around. He froze as an idea hit him. Maybe…

Six hours later he came out into the parking lot at the base of the mountain, significantly drier. Held over his head and blocking the rain's passage was his infamous Captain America shield. The weapon that stopped Thor's hammer, that helped to rid the world of the god Loki and the monster Red Skull, that had fought in countless battles and won everyone… was now being used as an umbrella. Well, at least the other Avengers weren't seeing this. At that moment, he heard the distinct sound of a camera locking the memory into an image and turned to see a teenager pulling his phone down and texting God only knows who. Captain America sighed again and hopped on his motorcycle, guiltily putting up a pole on his motorcycle and lashing his shield to it to form another makeshift umbrella. His cheeks burned red as he heard the teen take another picture and probably posting it on that thing that kids use. He thought it was Facebook maybe? Or maybe it was Instagram? Either way, he knew he was going to get majorly laughed at when he got back to New York. And knowing Stark, the picture was probably going to keep cropping up from time to time.

 **Author's Note: Alright, let me know if you want anything added to this and if you do, let me know some ideas of silly things Captain America might use his shield for. Again, read, review, and enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Here's another chapter finally! I'm just posting these as I get inspiration and none of them are going to be particularly long or anything. Read, review, and enjoy!**

CACACACA

Steve whistled a small tune to himself as he walked down the pathway. It was actually a rather nice day and he didn't have anywhere pressing to be. He might have an armful of groceries, but they weren't particularly heavy, so it didn't bother him to take the slow, scenic walk back to his apartment.

His whistling eventually settled into light humming as he came into a more populated area. He knew that whistling could get kind of annoying to other people, especially when they had super hearing like he did. Then it got really annoying. And, nowadays, there was really no way to tell if someone was a mutant with super hearing or something similar. Not that Steve had anything against mutants. And he certainly didn't think that they should identify themselves to people or anything. It was just kind of strange to think that anyone on this street could secretly have powers.

Sunlight filtered through the trees of Central Park and Steve closed his eyes to take in the moment. He waved cheerfully at the doddering old lady who was waving so cheerfully that he was surprised she didn't break anything. She might have been just being sweet when she waved at him, or – more likely – she saw the shield on his back and was waving at what she thought to be a hero.

Steve still did his best to carry around his shield wherever he went because there was no telling when something could happen where he'd need it fast. Still, it was slightly irritating that people freaked out at seeing him around with the shield out. He wondered if Stark would be willing to try to make a collapsible one that he could have instead, so he wouldn't have to go grocery shopping so early in the morning to lessen the number of people who could potentially recognize him.

Then again, that was another sometimes-good thing about New York City: people don't often pay attention to their surroundings, so a lot of the time he could walk around in a full Captain America suit and people wouldn't even notice. That wasn't such a good thing during, say, an alien attack, but it was nice for lessened recognizability.

Steve came back into the present when he heard squealing tires and someone shouting something. Exclaiming softly in surprise, Steve jerked backwards and out of the way of the bike that was barreling towards him. The kid on the bike yelled out a quick sorry before speeding back off towards where he had been going. He must have been late or something.

Steve didn't get a chance to muse on the kid's life any further before he heard an ominous ripping sound. Eyes widening, Steve couldn't do a single thing as the paper bag his groceries were in ripped down the middle of the bottom, promptly dropping all of his food onto the ground.

For a long moment, Steve just stared at the collection of groceries on the ground. There were a bunch of small things in there, little odds and ends that he needed for recipes in the coming week. Luckily, none of them were breakable things that would be irreparably damaged by their fall to the ground, but he was still stuck. There were too many groceries that were too small. He couldn't just gather them in his arms and go. He wouldn't make it ten feet before he dropped everything.

There wasn't even anything he could use nearby to collect the groceries in.

Sighing, Steve rubbed a frustrated hand over his face. He'd been having such a good morning too. This was truly unfortunate.

At least, it was unfortunate until an idea came to him. Then again, that idea wasn't much better than just abandoning his groceries. No, Steve decided. He was not going to put his groceries on his shield and walk home like that. The shield-as-an-umbrella incident was still cropping up in conversations at the Avengers Tower and Steve did not approve.

Then again, he really didn't want to just leave his groceries and calling for help to get them home would probably be even more embarrassing. Besides, there were barely any people around this early in the morning, just as he'd been musing all morning. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe it would be completely fine if he just grabbed the items, stuck them on his shield and rushed home. He could always come back out later to enjoy the sunny day. Yeah, that's what he would do. It'd be great. No one would see and it would be fine.

Steve bent over and started quickly and efficiently scooping his groceries onto his shield. He glanced around him carefully and straightened, bringing the make-shift carrier with him. He started jogging down the path, shield held carefully horizontal in front of him. A smile started to spread over his face as he realized that no one was recognizing him and he was fine. This wasn't as bad as he'd originally thought it would be.

Of course, he didn't know that Clint was watching him from a nearby building and laughing so hard he could barely breath.

 **Author's Note: There we go. This story isn't all that good, but it's fun to write, so whatever. Once again, just let me know if you want to see something specific. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Be proud of me! I'm writing all sorts of things this weekend! Anywho, read, review, and enjoy!**

CACACA

Steve smiled happily down at the children in front of him. Ever since the Avengers had gotten Nelson and Murdock to represent them, they had been doing more PR activities. Despite being blind and just a civilian, Matt Murdock was exceptionally vicious and had no qualms about telling someone to get off their butts and do something.

This was one of those things that Murdock had told Steve to get off his butt and do, so he'd done it. He definitely wasn't regretting it.

There was a huge group of kids from a Brooklyn orphanage who were taking a field trip to a huge hill that was perfect for sledding. The hill was always covered in soft, plush snow in the winter, with nothing but flat land surrounding it, so there was no worry about running into fences or trees or running out into the road.

Steve remembered playing on this hill as a kid. He and Bucky had played King of Mountain there when they were younger. Well, Bucky had played, and Steve had just stayed behind Bucky, occasionally shoving someone else off who'd gotten distracted by Bucky's victorious shouts. He remembered drinking hot cider with Bucky when Bucky came back from sledding on it. Steve had always been too sickly as a child to really play on the hill during the winter, instead living vicariously through Bucky's words on the subject and the pictures he'd draw of the hill and the kids flying off it.

Now, it was decades in the future and he was watching other kids who came from the same kind of sad past that he came from playing around in the snow of his home town on a hill he'd played on. It was nostalgic in a surprisingly good way. Nostalgic in a way he hadn't felt before, something bitter tinging the edges of his mind, but the bitterness taken over by overwhelming pride in the world he lived in today.

There were kids here today who would have been far too sickly to ever play out in the snow when Steve was a kid, but here they were, laughing and following their other friends. One of the workers at the orphanage had fondly told Steve about little Billy, who'd kicked his cancer almost a year ago and was now sledding down the hill and whooping loudly. Sure, he had to stop sledding for a little bit afterwards to get his breath back, but back in Steve's day, he wouldn't have made it past the cancer.

Beaming, Steve walked over to a group of kids who were arguing about who would get out of the huge sled and stay behind to push it. One little girl turned to face him, smile lighting up her thin face, but Steve put a finger to his lips, warning her to be quiet. She gave him an exaggerated nod, staring curiously at what he was doing.

Counting down on his fingers, he reached zero and then _shoved_ the sled over the edge of the hill with all his strength. The kids screamed, some with joy and some with legitimate fear. The little girl who'd seen him coming was laughing all the way down the hillside, laughing about how awesome Captain America was. Steve felt something warm curl in his chest.

Then there were a bunch of little kids tugging at the loops and pockets of his suit, pulling him this way and that, asking him to push their sleds like he pushed the other kids' sled. He laughed and followed each group obligingly, pushing sled after sled down the mountain and laughing as the children screaming in happiness.

About an hour later, one bright-eyed little boy tugged on Steve's hand, pulling it until Steve turned to him with a smile. Steve recognized the boy at the mute member of the orphanage and made sure to sign a 'hello' to the boy. The boy grinned and signed back, 'You should go sledding too.' Steve shook his head with a sad smile and told the boy that he didn't have a sled.

But the kids were insistent now, determined that Steve join them on a sled ride, but he genuinely didn't have a sled and wasn't entirely trusting of how the sleds the little kids had would handle his weight. He tried to explain this to the kids, but they didn't understand. One of them looked close to tears.

Desperately, Steve tried to find something he could use as a sled. Something, _anything_ that he thought could hold his weight. Whoa, wait a second. He had an idea!

Motioning that the kids should move back a little bit, Steve pulled out his shield and swung it around. Flipping it in the air (for the sole purpose of entertaining the kids), Steve caught it and settled it under him. Smiling at the cheering kids, he motioned to the back of his sled. Who was going to push him?

What followed was more vicious than any King of the Mountain game Steve had ever participated in. Apparently, the little kids really wanted to push Steve down the hill. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Then, all of a sudden, there were about eight kids crawling onto his lap and wrapping themselves around his neck and squeezing onto the shield with him.

And then one of the orphanage workers was shoving the make-shift sled full of people down the hill and Steve was honestly just trying to keep himself and the kids alive. It was definitely fun, and he totally enjoyed it, but the struggle of trying to keep all the kids from being sent flying off into the snow was quite the challenge.

He managed it, though, and they were all laughing when they reached the bottom of the hill, breathless and covered in snow and settling onto the ground in inelegant heaps.

Steve was just brushing the snow out of one of the boys' hair when he saw Natasha smirking at him from her car, Clint crowing with laughter next to her. Fantastic.

 **Author's Note: Here's another one! Remember, I'm open to ideas!**


End file.
